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Clockwise from top left: Butterfly house by Kahpree Thomas. Loraine Scalamoni assists Akeem Hasty
and Malik Coston in the art room. Jimmy Pierce helps students cut a large sheet of wood. Chair by
Akeem Hasty. Mia Kennedy paints her butterfly house.
and then graduate to power tools, as well as a laser engraver and
computer-generated numerically controlled router. In the art room,
DREAMS Center for Arts Education artist Loraine Scalamoni, assists
youth with finishing details such as hand painting, faux finishing and
other artistic work.
Students are referred to the program by school counselors, teachers,
parents, community resource specialists and juvenile court
counselors. Most youth come from single-family homes with low
to moderate incomes. While most participants are guys, girls are
also welcome. The power shop is limited to youth ages 13 and up,
but KMI serves students 8 and up through summer camps and
outreach programs in elementary schools. The student mentor ratio
is 3-to-1.
Ian “Mac” McCachern, community resource specialist for Learning
Perspectives, says he has recommended several kids for KMI.
“It’s an amazing program—the whole structure and visceral feel
of working with the wood really helps some kids,” McCachern
insists. “One of my guys in the program saved all the money he
earned with his sales and bought his own lathe and set up his own
business.”
Full-time social worker Bonnie Gaynor offers job readiness and
life-skills training to older youth, as well as one-on-one assistance
to help students transition from high school to the workforce or
higher education. Gaynor, who is an artist herself, can often be
found in the art room or woodworking shop. “It’s a great way of
connecting with the kids,” Gaynor says. “It allows me to gain their
respect, observe changes in behavior or personality, and helps kids
open up to me.”
KMI also imparts a doing-for-others mentality in its programming.
Participants are involved in several community projects
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